MEDIA STATEMENT
For Immediate Release — 29 Ramadan 1447 AH / 19 March 2026
“They have locked the gates of heaven’s doorstep. This is not politics. This is an attack on faith itself.”
SOUTH AFRICA — As millions of Muslims prepare to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the gates of Masjid Al-Aqsa remain locked by Israeli occupation forces. Worshippers have been barred from Islam’s third holiest site for three weeks—through the final days of Ramadan, the Night of Power, and now Eid.
“This is not a security measure. It is an attack on faith itself,” says the Palestine Solidarity Alliance.
On 28 February 2026, within an hour of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa, expelled worshippers, and closed the compound indefinitely. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron was also shut. This is the longest continuous closure of Al-Aqsa since 1967.
This matters for over a billion Muslims, as Al-Aqsa is:
The first Qibla (original direction of prayer)
The site of the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and Ascension and The third holiest site in Islam
Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa represent the spiritual culmination of Ramadan. This year, that prayer is being stolen.
Israel claims that the closure protects Palestinian worshippers. Yet:
50% of Palestinians in occupied territories lack bomb shelters
Over 100,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza
East Jerusalem communities have no protective infrastructure
Locking worshippers out while leaving them exposed is not protection—it is collective punishment and part of the grand scheme of Zionism, which seeks to replace Al-Aqsa with a mythical “Third Temple.”
This was recently supported by the US Defence Secretary who bears Crusader tattoos and by US soldiers reports that they are being told their mission is biblical prophecy. The closure is thus a clear reflection of the growing global Islamophobia.
We are reminded that Masjid Al- Aqsa is an inalienable Islamic Waqf—a sacred trust that cannot be sold, transferred, or seized. The current military closure violates eight centuries of unbroken Islamic custodianship and international law.
This assault is driven by racism and is being enforced by the Israeli military occupation.
“Defending Al-Aqsa and defending the ICJ case led by South Africa against the genocide are the same struggle,” the PSA states.
Furthermore, the assault on Al-Aqsa threatens every holy site in Jerusalem. The same historical framework that protects Al-Aqsa also safeguards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and all Christian sanctuaries. When that framework is dismantled at one site, every sacred place becomes vulnerable.
Israel has crossed red line. as Palestinian leader Kamal Khatib warned: “Here lies the gateway to war, or the doorway to peace.”
The world is being offered a choice
We choose peace. We choose justice. We choose Al-Aqsa.
OUR DEMANDS
1. Immediate and unconditional reopening of Masjid Al-Aqsa, the Ibrahimi Mosque and Church of the Holy Sepulchre
2. Restoration of Islamic Waqf authority under Hashemite custodianship
3. International protection for Palestinian worshippers under the Fourth Geneva Convention
4. Global action to confront Islamophobia
The gates of mercy are open. The gates of Al-Aqsa must open too.
Issued jointly by: Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA), United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA), Palestine Information Network (PIN), Social Intifada and South African Friends of Palestine.
29 Ramadan 1447 AH
MEDIA CONTACT
Naazim Adam 082 336 6711 | info@palestinesa.co.za | www.palestinesa.co.za
Khalid Vawda 083 284 7867 | Socialintifada@gmail.com
Ebrahim Moosa 062 301 2960
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